MSC has launched a new multimodal sea-rail service branded Taiga between Asia and Europe via Russia’s ports of Vostochny and Vladivostok in the Far East and St. Petersburg in the Northwest. The first shipment was delivered to St. Petersburg by a block train in mid-May.
Cargo arrives to Vladivostok or Vostochny in the Russian Far East on board vessels deployed in MSC’s services Golden Horn and Sunrise and loaded onto trains that deliver it to St. Petersburg. From St. Petersburg, containers can be shipped by MSC Maroc Express and Baltic Loop 7 services to Europe’s major hibs including Antwerp, Bremerhafen, Rotterdam and Hamburg.
Rail delivery from Vladivostok / Vostochny to St. Petersburg makes 13 days, and shipping by sea from St. Petersburg to a hub in Europe takes 4-7 days, bringing the overall transit time to 24 days compared to 41 day by the traditional deep sea route.
In future, MSC plans to launch a dedicated block train from the Russian Far East to St. Petersburg to improve the service flexibility.
Meanwhile, MSC continues to offer service in the framework of 2M deeming the new sea-rail multimodal services as an additional alternative for shippers in the current market conditions affected by the deficit of slots on ocean services due to the congestion in Europeand ports caused by the pandemic and the recent incident with “Ever Given” in the Suez.